7 Million Pounds Of Ammonia-treated Meat Sold for School Lunches (odd)

Wondering what your kids are eating for lunch at school? Well look above and you’ll see that it’s pink slime, otherwise known as ammonia-treated meat in a bright Pepto-bismol shade that even places likes McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Burger King have rejected. It turns out that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is buying 7 million pounds of the yucky slime (its official name is “Lean Beef Trimmings”) for school lunches. The grotesque slim is actually a combination of ground-up beef scraps, cow connective tissues and other beef trimmings that have been treated with ammonium hydroxide to kill pathogens like salmonella and E. coli.

According to microbiologist Gerald Zernstein, the slime was approved by scientists in DC and considered safe to eat under President George H.W. Bush’s administration, with the USDA asserting that its ground beef purchases “meet the highest standard for food safety.” According to MSNBC, with ammonium hydroxide can be harmful when eaten and can actually turn into ammonium nitrate, which is found in homemade bombs.

Celebrity che, Jamie Oliver is leading a public outcry against the pink slime, as well as numerous schools in California, who have are teaching cafeteria workers how to cook from scratch and produce fresh meals. Makes you want to start packing your kid’s lunch now, huh?!

Kristie Bertucci

Kristie Bertucci is an L.A.-based writer, who can't live without her MacBook Pro. When she's not writing, she's either reading or shopping (online, of course) and loves lazy days so she can catch up on her DVR-recorded shows and movies. She's definitely a Mac girl, she loves music and is currently on a mission to to have an insane and enviable iTunes library.